Product Description
Learning a complex new language is no easy task especially when it s an object-oriented computer programming language like Java.You might think the problem is your brain. It seems to have a mind of its own, a mind that doesn't always want to take in the dry, technical stuff you're forced to study.

The fact is your brain craves novelty. It's constantly searching, scanning, waiting for something unusual to happen. After all, that's the way it was built to help you stay alive. It takes all the routine, ordinary, dull stuff and filters it to the background so it won't interfere with your brain's real work--recording things that matter. How does your brain know what matters? It's like the creators of the Head First approach say, suppose you're out for a hike and a tiger jumps in front of you, what happens in your brain? Neurons fire. Emotions crank up. Chemicals surge.

That's how your brain knows.

And that's how your brain will learn Java. Head First Java combines puzzles, strong visuals, mysteries, and soul-searching interviews with famous Java objects to engage you in many different ways. It's fast, it's fun, and its effective. And, despite its playful appearance, Head First Java is serious stuff: a complete introduction to object-oriented programming and Java.You'll learn everything from the fundamentals to advanced topics, including threads, network sockets, and distributed programming with RMI.And the new. second edition focuses on Java 5.0, the latest version of the Java language and development platform.Because Java 5.0 is a major update to the platform, with deep, code-level changes, even more careful study and implementation is required.So learning the Head First way is more important than ever.

If you've read a Head First book, you know what to expect--a visually rich format designed for the way your brain works. If you haven't, you're in for a treat. You'll see why people say it's unlike any other Java book you've ever read.

By exploiting how your brain works, Head First Java compresses the time it takes to learn and retain--complex information.Its unique approach not only shows you what you need to know about Java syntax, it teaches you to think like a Java programmer. If you want to be bored, buy some other book. But if you want to understand Java, this book's for you.Amazon.com Review
It has taken four years, but with Head First Java the introductory Java book category has finally come of age. This is an excellent book, far more capable than any of the scores of Java-for-novices books that have come before it. Kathy Sierra and Bert Bates deserve rich kudos--and big sales--for developing this book's new way of teaching the Java programming language, because any reader with even a little bit of discipline will come away with true understanding of how the language works. Perhaps best of all, this is no protracted "Hello, World" introductory guide. Readers get substantial exposure to object-oriented design and implementation, serialization, neatwork programming, threads, and Remote Method Invocation (RMI).

Key to the authors' teaching style are carefully designed graphics. Rather than explain class inheritance (to cite one example) primarily with text, the authors use a series of tree diagrams that clarify the mechanism far more succinctly. The diagrams are carefully annotated with arrows and notes. Also characteristic of the unique teaching strategy is heavy reliance on exercises, in which the reader is asked to complete partial classes, write whole new code segments and do design work. Though there's little discussion of why the exercises' correct answers are what they are, it's clear that the practice work was carefully designed to reinforce the lesson at hand. If you've waited this long to give Java a try, this book is a great choice. --David Wall

Topics covered: The Java programming language for people with no Java experience, and even people with no programming experience at all. Key concepts read like a list of Java features: Object oriented design, variable type and scope, object properties and methods, inheritance and polymorphism, exceptions, graphical user interfaces (GUIs), network connectivity, Java archives (JAR files), and Remote Method Invocation (RMI). ... Read more

Customer Reviews (275)

Not my cup of tea...
I bought "Head First Java, 2nd edition" based on several good reviews here and on other sites, expecting a useful beginner book and a gentle introduction to the Java language.For a non-programmer.And to begin with things were moving along quite well.The authors want you to not use an IDE, rather type everything in notepad and then run it from the command line.This inevitably leads to some typos and subsequent compiler errors.The authors want you to see this and learn from it.Let me tell you this gets tedious after a short while.I want to learn Java, and spending excessive amounts of time hunting down typing/syntax errors doesn't help in that regard.In particular syntax errors, since they are never obvious and finding them means comparing the text in the book with what you see on your screen character by character.

But you move along, at a brisk pace, with introduction of new material every few pages.And then comes the Battleship game.Around page 135 or so.And you have to type the code, save the file, type more code, save more files, and then you realize there's an error.By design.Correct the error by re-typing one huge file.Except the error didn't go away.Start looking for errors.Can't find any.Look some more.Still no luck.Download the files from the books web site.Well, there's only two, and the second isn't being used yet.But the game will not function without some files from the previous chapter.And they don't work right anymore because you have changed things.As the book told you to do.And back and forth you go.And then you realize: you're not learning Java, you're spinning your wheels trying to sort out what the authors should have fixed in the first place.

After about four hours of this I closed the book, put it up on the bookshelf, headed out for the local bookstore and picked up "Sam's Teach Yourself Java in 24 hours, 5th edition".I'm about half way through it now, and it has been a much nicer experience.

So while "Head First Java, 2nd edition" may be a fine and useful book for others, it has been a waste of time and money for me.

Good book
I have bought many books that teaches Java and none of them work for me. They all are overloaded with not very helpful information.
I like the language of this book and the way they explain things. Sometimes, I wish they give more examples but overall it's a great book especially for people who have little to medium knowledge of Java.

More a Java Programming Class than a Reference Book
When you first glance through this book you will notice all of the retro pictures and half jokes.I've never read a Dummys/Idiots book on programming, but I can imagine them having the same look and feel.But then when you dig into the actual content...

This book, to me, felt like a good class on Java programming from a great professor who has real world experience - the tone is conversational and the topics selected that make the most real world sense.There are a few large "class projects" that have a very real world feel to them (a networked beatbox anyone?).Important points are pounded home.It is the class but without the text book...

The topics covered also seemed to have a "real person" feel as opposed to a textbook feel.I read another popular Java book just before this one.It threw 2 chapters on GUI basics as almost an afterthought, there was no networking, nothing about inner classes, nothing about making distribution packages, etc.In that book the basic ideas were gone over in great depth, greater than here, but these more practical topics were skipped or had the briefest mentioned.

With this book you start using Swing just a little more than half way through the book.All the topics in the last paragraph (plus many others) were covered in a practical method.

This book, however, isn't perfect.As mentioned above, this book is like a good class on Java programming without the textbook.Sometimes the textbook is needed.When I was in school I always read the textbook no matter how good the prof - it was needed to get the full benefit of the info.I also like having good reference books that I can leaf through when I have an issue.This book is a mediocre, at best, reference book and admits it.

It also often gets too cute.OK, sometimes that is needed, but it can get a little...As another reviewer mentioned, this books often seems to be aimed at collage age kids, not professional programmers. Not necessarily a bad thing- I've been out of my 20s longer than I care to admit and I never felt I was too old to be reading it.

I would recommend this book if you are just starting off in Java or are rusty and want to pick it back up.I would also recommend getting a more conventional book asfoil and as a reference.

Not useful
If you have previous expereince in OOP, skip this title. It drags through concepts you all ready know. You'd be better off buying a Java reference book. My two cents.

Head First Java
As other books from Head First collection, this is a must have. It's not a language reference, but a complete beginner companion. Irreverent texts help you to understand weird topics. ... Read more

Product Description

Are you looking for a deeper understanding of the Java™ programming language so that you can write code that is clearer, more correct, more robust, and more reusable? Look no further! Effective Java™, Second Edition, brings together seventy-eight indispensable programmer’s rules of thumb: working, best-practice solutions for the programming challenges you encounter every day.

This highly anticipated new edition of the classic, Jolt Award-winning work has been thoroughly updated to cover Java SE 5 and Java SE 6 features introduced since the first edition. Bloch explores new design patterns and language idioms, showing you how to make the most of features ranging from generics to enums, annotations to autoboxing.

Each chapter in the book consists of several “items” presented in the form of a short, standalone essay that provides specific advice, insight into Java platform subtleties, and outstanding code examples. The comprehensive descriptions and explanations for each item illuminate what to do, what not to do, and why.

Highlights include:

• New coverage of generics, enums, annotations, autoboxing, the for-each loop, varargs, concurrency utilities, and much more
• Updated techniques and best practices on classic topics, including objects, classes, libraries, methods, and serialization
• How to avoid the traps and pitfalls of commonly misunderstood subtleties of the language
• Focus on the language and its most fundamental libraries: java.lang, java.util, and, to a lesser extent, java.util.concurrent and java.io

Simply put, Effective Java™, Second Edition, presents the most practical, authoritative guidelines available for writing efficient, well-designed programs.

Customer Reviews (48)

Kindle Version
The book is great.This is a review of the Kindle format.I bought the paperback a year ago.I thought it would be great to get this in electronic form on the Kindle.I tried the sample first, but to my surprise some code examples are pictures that do no scale and are thus impossible to read.

Excellent
I bought this book a while ago when I was in a "self-improvement" mindset. I didn't pick it up and read it until recently, and I must say that I regret waiting as long as I did. It has a lot of good ideas, and I would recommend it to anyone who is already familiar with Java. Too early and it won't make sense or stick, but intermediate-advanced developers should definitely read it. Just chiming in along with many other positive reviews.

What??? You haven't read this?
This means that:
(1) You don't write Java code, in which case you're forgiven.
(2) You're about to start reading it, in which case you're also forgiven.
(3) The unforgiveable alternative.

good transaction
Book was ordered for a co-worker. I have no information about this book, except it was in great condition.

Java craftmanship vs java correctness
Relatively strong in the language of java, it is a craft knowledge book. One will generally find most of the recommendations correct. I like this book, but find the book fails in the meta process area.

It fails in three areas.
The first is the key weakness...
1)It is too weak on the process of confirming the correctness of java. Snippets of craft knowledge applied to the APIs, is not as necessary as the process of confirming the java code performs as expected. It gives craft knowledge, but not the knowledge to develop one's own craft.

- The most important thing a book like this can do is to teach a developer how to think about effective java programming. Metaprocess not just examples.
- How to profile correctly and tie these to the results of at least one example would be excellent. Many programmers reading the book, don't know how to confirm the effectiveness of their own code. Explaining in detail how to confirm the examples with the profiler would make this a five ***** item.
- It doesn't cover how to use static analysis tools and how to customize them for yourself or your shop. For example, avoiding finalize to release resources can be detected by a custom checker as a shop standard. Many static analysis tools can automatically (or can be made to) check code patterns.

Basically, a "my approach to effective java" chapter would help of how the author comes to this knowledge and confirms it.

These next two are nit's on the book's topic...

2) Java in it's environment could be better explained and the properties that affect the execution. It doesn't clearly explain how some SUN API's are very property setting dependent. Understanding the intentionality of an API property and finding the correct value for properties is essential. General practices require deeper knowledge of the API's (e.g. such as SUN's RMIs large number of unofficially documented garbage collection settings see [...] ). There are limits of java portability and some edgy API's get programmers into trouble. Knowing what and how to tradeoff architectural decisions in selecting an API or language construct is useful.

Further some of these recommendations are affected by the gc and heap settings. Some types of JVMs (SUN's 1.4 had IMP) have differences that change the recommended practice.

3) Use of certain packages over others (e.g. nio (Java 7 nio2)) and what the purpose of these packages are could be explained better. How performance and file transfers are improved with non-blocking io.

Finally, I note java always consists at least these two tasks developing correctly and searching for the correct API to use. Those following this book may believe that the coding correctly is sufficient.

Afterword. I do like this book, but it doesn't make me think using this (JB) author's mental process. Improve by explaining the process of discovering effective java and incorporating it in practice, and this book becomes essential. It's a choice of giving programming pearls versus teaching one how to find programming pearls of wisdom. (I like both, but a bit more of the latter.)

Effective practice performs at least the following functions:

- Defect Tracking - identify critical failures affecting system performance (bugzilla)
- Profiling - determine resource usage and performance of running software components over time (dynamic analysis) and ensure memory leaks aren't occurring
- Network Analysis - (for programs with networking) determine network component and communication failures and packet timing (e.g. wireshark)
- Logging - monitor the logged events in the system for trends and failures (log4j)
- Debugging - trace the execution of code in development to ascertain correct behavior (eclipse)
- Instrumentation - monitor (in a limited fashion) the software and hardware components in production (e.g. SNMP in the Java 6 JVM)
- Static Analysis - analyze (automated or walkthrough) the code for defects prior to running (e.g. Findbugs, checkstyle or better PMD)
- Compilation - analyze the compiler output (WERROR)
- Database Statistics - analyze the database (or file) statistics and access path to stored data (e.g. explain plan, top 10 lists)
- Code management (e.g. subversion or better mylin)

Thanks

Joe
... Read more

Product Description

Sams Teach Yourself Java™ in 24 Hours

Rogers Cadenhead

Fifth Edition

Covers Java 6

Includes Interactive Online Learning Lab

Now in Full Color

In just 24 lessons of one hour or less, you can learn how to create Java applications with the free NetBeans visual editing tools.

Using a straightforward, step-by-step approach, popular author Rogers Cadenhead helps you master the skills and technology you need to create desktop and web programs, web services, and even a browser game in Java.

Each lesson builds on what you’ve already learned, giving you a rock-solid foundation for real-world success.

Full-color figures and clear step-by-step instructions visually show you how to program with Java.

Quizzes and Exercises at the end of each chapter help you test your knowledge.

Notes, Tips, and Cautions provide related information, advice, and warnings.

Learn how to…

• Set up your Java programming environment
• Write your first working program in just minutes
• Control program decisions and behavior
• Store and work with information
• Build straightforward user interfaces
• Create interactive web programs
• Use threading to build more responsive programs
• Build a browser-based game from start to finish
• Read and write files and XML data
• Master best practices for object-oriented programming
• Create flexible, interoperable web services with JAX-WS
• Integrate graphics into your applications

Rogers Cadenhead is a writer, computer programmer, and web developer who has written 21 books on Java and Internet-related topics, including Sams Teach Yourself Java 6 in 21 Days. He maintains the Drudge Retort and several other popular websites that receive more than seven million visits a year.

Free Access to Online Learning Lab

Register your book at informit.com/register for free, exclusive access to the Online Learning Lab

to supplement this book’s lessons:

• Video walkthroughs to show you how to complete the step-by-step examples in the book
• Fast and fun online quizzes to test your understanding of each lesson
• Source code and files for the book’s examples
• Updates or corrections as they become available

Category:  Programming

Covers:  Java 6 Standard Edition (SE)

User Level:  Beginning—Intermediate

Customer Reviews (20)

A bit too discombobulated stuff for a beginner
I'm a seasoned Java programmer, so the comments herewith do not apply directly to me. I bought this book for my kids so that I can give them some reading assignments and then follow up with some coding examples. I find myself inventing my own code examples more than the book provides for start up kids (by the way, they're 13 and 15). After progressing like to hour 7, it's become a bit too difficult for them to follow the book on their own. That's my disappointment.

However, if I could imagine that you're getting this book with the hope of learning Java, coming from a different language, then may be (MAY BE) I'd give it a four star. It's got some solid though brief introduction to Java concepts. I've not reached the end yet, so may be my review might not be the best for now. Otherwise, Java is an awesome language for anyone crossing over to Java computer programming from any other language.

Best book for beginners
I should have written this review 10 years back but I'm doing it today. I started learning Java 10 years back and this was my first book which I bought from a local bookstore. The book lives up to its title 'in 24 hrs' as each chapter is written in such a way that you can REALLY complete reading it in 1 hour. It was fun to read this book and helped me make smooth transition to the Java world. There are lots of book for beginners in Java, but this one stands out. I still consider this is the best book for beginners and highly recommend to everyone new to Java.

Lesson 21, Reading & Writing XML data
My original review of this book was based on the first 7 chapters and I gave it 5 stars... But that was before Lesson 21, during which you create a short app that grabs XML data from the internet and displays it in console... Only, that isn't what happened.

The wed address didn't work, and when I manually plugged it into by web browser to see if it actually worked [...]/ (format intentional broken), it did... It re-directed me to a [...] XML feed. And anyone that is familiar with politics these days knows who the Weather Underground are...

This is when I decided to do a net search on Roger... And boy was I surprised. He is a political activist, with not so hidden connections with many on the far left. Anyone with a desire to find what I did can do so quite easily, so I wont bother posting any of it here.

While I enjoyed his book, and it helped me a lot, I can not stomach an attempt to link his readers into his online politics through one of his lessons. Even if is was unintentional. (Which IMO is a significant issue with education today)

So I am changing my review score to 3. This is a great intro to Java, and I still think so. Which is why I will not give it a negative review. But Mr. Cadenhead should be more careful where he directs his lesson links in the future.

Introductory JAVA - Self-Help Study
Sam's Teach Yourself JAVA in 24 Hours, 5th Edition, by Rogers Cadenhead, is a decent introductory text for those wanting to get a basic hands-on exposure to the JAVA programming language. You will cover most of the major topics that are needed in any programming environment. However, don't expect to be a JAVA programmer when you finish working through the book. This is a quick-and-dirty book that spoon-feeds you through each chapter and various programming projects.

The initial tutorial will assist you in finding, downloading, and installing the JAVA Developer's (Programming) Kit (JDK). Netbeans is , also, found on the site. Netbeans is the Integrated Developer's Environment (IDE) used for creating, compiling , and running your programs. Other IDE's are available should you choose to research and use another.

Some of the nice features of the text are its short explanations of coding protocols. This is, also, a short-coming. You won't find any in-depth explanations to the syntax or keywords used for coding.

I, personally, had some problems with getting all the programs listed as exercises to run. Many were typos I introduced and later corrected, but others were Errata. I cannot speak for the author as to the source of these errors. They could have been introduced by the publisher when typesetting, or had worked under a different version of the JAVA JDK and Netbeans.

However, as of today, August 20, 2010, there is still no Errata page for the text. And one is definitely needed.

Lastly, a final warning, do not get creative with separating chapters and projects. This will possibly introduce glitches with the projects being unable to find other class'es that are required for inheritance issues.

Having had some previous major programming experience, I wanted to get some exposure to the JAVA language and nuances. As a text used to get familiar with both the JAVA JDK and Netbeans, I found this text a nice easy introduction before I started into serious in-depth study of the JAVA language.

I previewed several JAVA texts of this type before selecting. It is better than many others in its class, IMHO.

Helped me get through college Java course!
I am currently taking my first java course and my third college programming course.I was having some trouble understanding the textbook for my course, and using the programming development kit(Eclipse, Netbeans, etc.)"Sams Teach Yourself Java in 24 hours" takes you through, step-by-step, how to start programming in java using short, hour or less, lessons(including writing a complete program each time).

Because I do have some previous programming experience, I was able to skip(or skim quickly) through some of the lessons.It doesn't assume that you know anything about programming but doesn't drag out if you do.Each lesson builds on the last lesson.Each lesson also follows a different, real life, application of what you are learning. It is not the same boring application every single lesson. First lesson: "hello, World!"(of course). Another lesson: display the credits of a movie(Not all of them). Yet another lesson:build a graphical interface for playing media.This book is an easy read.I did 15 lessons the first day.

The biggest help was with using "Netbeans":how to install"Netbeans", how to create a new file, how to run different files, how to debug, plus more. ... Read more

Product Description

"I was fortunate indeed to have worked with a fantastic team on the design and implementation of the concurrency features added to the Java platform in Java 5.0 and Java 6. Now this same team provides the best explanation yet of these new features, and of concurrency in general. Concurrency is no longer a subject for advanced users only. Every Java developer should read this book."
--Martin Buchholz
JDK Concurrency Czar, Sun Microsystems

"For the past 30 years, computer performance has been driven by Moore's Law; from now on, it will be driven by Amdahl's Law. Writing code that effectively exploits multiple processors can be very challenging. Java Concurrency in Practice provides you with the concepts and techniques needed to write safe and scalable Java programs for today's--and tomorrow's--systems."
--Doron Rajwan
Research Scientist, Intel Corp

"This is the book you need if you're writing--or designing, or debugging, or maintaining, or contemplating--multithreaded Java programs. If you've ever had to synchronize a method and you weren't sure why, you owe it to yourself and your users to read this book, cover to cover."
--Ted Neward
Author of Effective Enterprise Java

"Brian addresses the fundamental issues and complexities of concurrency with uncommon clarity. This book is a must-read for anyone who uses threads and cares about performance."
--Kirk Pepperdine
CTO, JavaPerformanceTuning.com

"This book covers a very deep and subtle topic in a very clear and concise way, making it the perfect Java Concurrency reference manual. Each page is filled with the problems (and solutions!) that programmers struggle with every day. Effectively exploiting concurrency is becoming more and more important now that Moore's Law is delivering more cores but not faster cores, and this book will show you how to do it."
--Dr. Cliff Click
Senior Software Engineer, Azul Systems

"I have a strong interest in concurrency, and have probably written more thread deadlocks and made more synchronization mistakes than most programmers. Brian's book is the most readable on the topic of threading and concurrency in Java, and deals with this difficult subject with a wonderful hands-on approach. This is a book I am recommending to all my readers of The Java Specialists' Newsletter, because it is interesting, useful, and relevant to the problems facing Java developers today."
--Dr. Heinz Kabutz
The Java Specialists' Newsletter

"I've focused a career on simplifying simple problems, but this book ambitiously and effectively works to simplify a complex but critical subject: concurrency. Java Concurrency in Practice is revolutionary in its approach, smooth and easy in style, and timely in its delivery--it's destined to be a very important book."
--Bruce Tate
Author of Beyond Java

"Java Concurrency in Practice is an invaluable compilation of threading know-how for Java developers. I found reading this book intellectually exciting, in part because it is an excellent introduction to Java's concurrency API, but mostly because it captures in a thorough and accessible way expert knowledge on threading not easily found elsewhere."
--Bill Venners
Author of Inside the Java Virtual Machine

Threads are a fundamental part of the Java platform. As multicore processors become the norm, using concurrency effectively becomes essential for building high-performance applications. Java SE 5 and 6 are a huge step forward for the development of concurrent applications, with improvements to the Java Virtual Machine to support high-performance, highly scalable concurrent classes and a rich set of new concurrency building blocks. In Java Concurrency in Practice, the creators of these new facilities explain not only how they work and how to use them, but also the motivation and design patterns behind them.

However, developing, testing, and debugging multithreaded programs can still be very difficult; it is all too easy to create concurrent programs that appear to work, but fail when it matters most: in production, under heavy load. Java Concurrency in Practice arms readers with both the theoretical underpinnings and concrete techniques for building reliable, scalable, maintainable concurrent applications. Rather than simply offering an inventory of concurrency APIs and mechanisms, it provides design rules, patterns, and mental models that make it easier to build concurrent programs that are both correct and performant.

This book covers:

• Basic concepts of concurrency and thread safety
• Techniques for building and composing thread-safe classes
• Using the concurrency building blocks in java.util.concurrent
• Performance optimization dos and don'ts
• Testing concurrent programs
• Advanced topics such as atomic variables, nonblocking algorithms, and the Java Memory Model

Customer Reviews (70)

Absolutely esential
A comprehensive introduction to concurrency in Java, updated to cover the new executors/thread pools/futures paradigm.Spends a lot of time on the basic concepts of concurrency and then reviews basically every concurrency primitive in Java.I can't recommend this enough.

Highly Applicable for Fast Improvements
After just the first couple of chapters I was able to fix several major bugs in my multithreaded applications.I have a number of Java certifications, but I would never have known about classes like AtomicInteger and AtomicReference without reading this book.It is definitely important to get the most performance possible out of your programs, especially in a service-oriented environment with lots of whining customers and little budget for hardware upgrades.

I was really impressed with the ExecutorService framework for fixed thread pools.I was asked to create a pooling mechanism simulating an application server that can be used for standalone testing.I originally created and managed the threads myself in an array, but this book gave me the information for making more use of the Java API in keeping the code clean.Using Callable instead of Runnable is great for getting results from your processes after they complete, and Future gives you a hook for cancellation/interruption.

There is a really interesting discussion on JVM shutdown.I have sometimes had processes that threw a Runtime exception but still held a database lock, causing deadlocks and contention later on.This recommends doing the final resource cleanup in the finally block of the "run" method.However, what if a "grid" monitoring process forces shutdown of my application?Would the Object's final() method insure that that my resource was cleaned up so that no lock is still held by the grid's JVM?The answer seems to be that the final method is less reliably called than the finally block, and that you should make your tasks "interruptable" by polling an unbounded queue or calling the thread's isInterrupted() method frequently.My questions aren't all answered on this, but I still have another 150 pages to go in the book.

Great book!Highly recommended.
Before purchasing this book I borrowed it from a friend.Unfortunately he needed it back before I could finish, but it didn't matter because I had already decided it should be part of my Java book collection.It fits right in with my other two favorite Java books, Effective Java and Java Puzzlers.This book does a great job of explaining concurrency in the Java language and the best practices.The book not only gives examples of what you should do, but also what not to do.The majority of the book describes Java concurrency practices at higher levels, but the last chapter also describes the Java Memory Model for those wanting to tie it all together.I would consider this book to be for intermediate and advanced Java programmers.As the book states, it is not an introduction to concurrency so you should at least have a good understanding of Java threading basics before jumping in.

Good for beginners, but a drag otherwise
I am surprised to find the majority of the reviewers rated this book 5. I find that this book is loaded with noise and you will have to wade through the authors excessive obsession to state the obvious over and over again, even in its "advanced topics" section. Such as:

"Performance is a moving target; yesterday's benchmark showing that X is faster than Y may already be out of date today."

Also, some of its examples uses non-standard annotations - @ThreadSafe, @GuardedBy, @NotTheadSafe, etc - that the authors hoped will be part of the JavaSE 7.0 release. (NOTE that this book was written when Java 6 was in beta stage)

Great book!
The most comprehensive java threads book I have ever read. It gives an in depth knowledge of Multithreading issues and how to address them in many different ways, either by using the java.util.concurrent package or by the primitives wait/notify/notifyAll. As to the latters, it sheds a clear light on how to avoid issues like missing signals and othersl. ... Read more

Product Description

One of the most popular beginning programming books, now fully updated

Java is a popular language for beginning programmers, and earlier editions of this fun and friendly guide have helped thousands get started. Now fully revised to cover recent updates for Java 7.0, Beginning Programming with Java For Dummies, 3rd Edition is certain to put more first-time programmers and Java beginners on the road to Java mastery.*

*
• Java is the platform-independent, object-oriented programming language used for multimedia applications and popular with beginning programmers
*
• This book explores what goes into creating a program, putting the pieces together, dealing with standard programming challenges, debugging, and making the program work
*
• Offers new options for tools and techniques used in Java development
*
• Provides valuable information and examples for the would-be programmer with no Java experience
*
• All examples are updated to reflect the latest changes in Java 7.0
*

Beginning Programming with Java For Dummies, 3rd Edition offers an easy-to-understand introduction to programming through the popular, versatile Java 7.0 language. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (40)

Wonderful Book
Wonderfully written book.Great for someone who has no or very little experience with programming.I started out with this book and have since moved on to other more advanced books.Great teacher, and I don't think there were any errors in the example codes the book would give.Glad I bought it!Other reviews are write that you won't be programming anything of any importance after this book but I don't think that's what this book is for.It is a beginners guide to introduce the Java programming language.

Take it with a Grain of Salt
This is a great book for learning Java, and it gets you into the code quickly, but he has some proprietary functions that you use that are not used in normal Java programming, so keep this in mind. I prefer the Dummies version of C++ because I think it stays much closer to the real code rather than creating code snippets that you will never be able to use in the industry. I know he's just trying to get you going on the code, but I wish it didn't include that provision.

Get Down to Business!
Barry Burd wastes so much space trying to be cute and funny that it is a real chore to search for the important bits of information in this book.I don't want to be entertained, I just was to learn Java in as few pages as possible.

Excellent, but too late
This Book is in very good condition, but I don't recommended if you in rush or you need it soon

Good Intro to Programming Concepts - Poor Intro to Java
I am a System Administrator and have been programming since 1970 when I first learned Fortran. I have also taught various beginner computer courses. I have never had a need to know Java until recently my wife (who knows nothing at all about programming) had to take a Java class for her college major. I have had good experience with the "Dummies" books in the past (I learned .ASP from a "Dummies" book), so I figured this book would help her with her class, as well as give me something to learn from so I could help her. With that in mind I was very disappointed. My wife was looking for help learning Java, and without taking the time to go through all of the "concept" material, the book was too technical for her to understand.

If you just want to learn the in depth general programming concepts and have lots of time, this book does a good job of that. For actually learning how to write Java, it is far too limited.

-It has no real complete examples to show how to fully implement the items it covers.

-It has no practice exercises.

-I covers only a very small portion of the Java code.

-There is a tear-out reference guide in the fromt that lists commands with a brief description of what they are, but some of them are not even covered in the book, so you have no idea how to use them.

-The Index is not very comprehensive so that combined with the limited commands covered, it does not even make for a good reference book. (I frequently use my other "Dummies" books for reference).

In Summary, if you are getting this to get an overview of how programming works, it is great for that (and would warrant 5-stars). But if you are getting it to learn Java, look elsewhere. ... Read more

Product Description

This revised edition of the classic Core Java™, Volume I–Fundamentals, is the definitive guide to Java for serious programmers who want to put Java to work on real projects.

Fully updated for the new Java SE 6 platform, this no-nonsense tutorial and reliable reference illuminates the most important language and library features with thoroughly tested real-world examples. The example programs have been carefully crafted to be easy to understand as well as useful in practice, so you can rely on them as an outstanding starting point for your own code.

Volume I is designed to quickly bring you up to speed on what’s new in Java SE 6 and to help you make the transition as efficiently as possible, whether you’re upgrading from an earlier version of Java or migrating from another language. The authors concentrate on the fundamental concepts of the Java language, along with the basics of user-interface programming. You’ll find detailed, insightful coverage of 

• Java fundamentals
• Object-oriented programming
• Interfaces and inner classes
• Reflection and proxies
• The event listener model
• GUI programming with Swing
• Packaging applications
• Exception handling
• Logging and debugging
• Generic programming
• The collections framework
• Concurrency

For detailed coverage of XML processing, networking, databases, internationalization, security, advanced AWT/Swing, and other advanced features, look for the forthcoming eighth edition of Core Java™, Volume II—Advanced Features (ISBN: 978-0-13-235479-0).

Customer Reviews (22)

Excellent and comprehensive Java book
This is a real professional book on Java.It is very structured with accurate and detailed discussions, along with examples and references.We are currently using this book for a college class in Java at New York University.It's working well in that environment.

Note that there is a Volume 1 and a Volume 2 (advanced).I plan to purchase the Volume 2 based on the first book, and keep these as my core reference Java texts.

jenia
a good technical book about java.
Good as a reference book for people with experience with java

Excited for book, then disappointed
As a new student to the art of programming, but have been taking a few programming classes more recently, I was excited from the positive reviews of this book.I am not a fan of the book myself.I like that there are C++ comparisons, and tips throughout the book, but the book misses on a few key components, like showing you what the program would output if run.Most people reading programming books are not going to run all the examples in the book and just want to see the output.That's a minus 1 star for me.The 2nd minus star for me is the flow of the book.Chances are you're going to buy the book anyway since it's for a class and not for a general read.I'd give the book 3-4 stars, but in the end went with a 3 since I don't look forward to reading the book like other programming books.

comprehensive but misguided
These books document a lot of java features, but the code samples advocate a truly awful programming methodology, where computational engines are intermingled with window system calls. Plus, entirely too much attention is given to user interface programming. And to threads (google "The problem with threads", by Edward Lee). So, if you just want a tutorial introduction to Java, see Learning Java, and if you want something heavier, get the Java cookbook (from O'Reilly) or Wicked Cool Java: Code Bits, Open-Source Libraries, and Project Ideas, but don't get this paperweight collection...

Great explanation of Java Programming
This book is a great explanation of Java programming if you have had some experience in programming languages (especially C) before. If you like learning from example code this is the book to get as it has lots of relevant example code that is very well commented. ... Read more

Product Description

Eight handy minibooks cover just what programmers need to get going with Java 7

With the newest release of Java, Sun has added more robust functionality to the multimedia power of this platform-independent programming language. Like its bestselling previous editions, Java All-in-One For Dummies, 3rd Edition has what programmers need to get up and running quickly with the new version.

Covering the enhanced multimedia features as well as programming improvements, this guide makes it easy to find what you want and put it to use.

• Java, the popular object-oriented, platform-independent programming language used for multimedia applications, boasts increased functionality and new features in Version 7
• This handy all-in-one guide focuses on the vital information that enables developers to get up and running quickly on the new version
• Covers the enhanced multimedia features as well as programming enhancements, Java and XML, Swing, server-side Java, Eclipse, and more
• Minibooks cover Java basics; programming basics; strings, arrays, and collections; programming techniques; Swing; Web programming; files and databases; and a "fun and games" category
• Java developers number over 6 million

Rather than trying to cover every aspect of this massive topic, Java All-in-One For Dummies, 3rd Edition focuses on the practical information you need to become productive with Java 7 right away. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Great book for windows based users only!
This book is great over all but It has a flaw.

The book gives great detailed instructions if you are using Microsoft Windows, and all of the code is usable on other operating systems, but there are no instructions no how to use compilers or utilities for other operating systems.


so if you use Gnu/Linux aka Linux, or Unix, or Unix based operating systems such as FreeBSD or Mac you may wish to avoid this book because of lack of instruction....

if you do use the book look at installing GCC, GCC-C++ and GCJ.... for Linux,unix and mac... other apps are needed too but that will allow you to do most parts of the book.

Java Examples and Explanations
Great examples. Terrific explanations. It did have the basics, but it was very explanatory. Everything you need to know to get started. Excellent reference that you may need along with the other Java books.

Not for Dummies
Impossible to understand.First Dummies book that I have not had a clue as to what they are saying.

Pretty Good Introduction
I found this book to be a great refresher. That is, having written Java in the past, writing mainly C# in the last 8 years, I needed to update my knowledge of Java since Java 1.2. The authors(s) do a good job of keeping the material from becoming too dry. Many programming books start with too much theory before diving into practical code. This book starts with a quick tutorial on two programming tools, TextPad and Eclipse, and does a good job explaining enough of both tools to get you started. The reason for two tools is that if you are new to a complex IDE environment, the author(s) introduce a text centric tool (TextPad) and a more advanced GUI based tool (Eclipse).

As one reviewer noted, it is best to think of this book as one, larger book (paraphrasing). The author states that the book is not intended to be read cover-to-cover yet I found reading cover-to-cover was better for me. The material starts with the simple, "Hello World" style examples covering editing, compiling, and running code. Simple examples are interspersed with Java requirements for file naming, class structure, running examples, data types, if-then-else, loops, switch, exceptions and other introductory concepts.. Following books/chapters cover object oriented programming, more formal class structure, subclasses, inheritance, interfaces, inner classes, packaging ad documenting classes, String, Array, and collections, thread programming, network programming, regular expressions, recursion Swing (Java's GUI API), We programming files and databases, XML operations, and applications with drawing and animation.

Jammed packed as this book is with nearly all basic concepts a beginning to intermediate Java programmer needs to know, the material is intended to get you started and only scratches the surface of what a professional Java programmer will acquire with time. In my opinion, there is a good balance of material with a decent writing style. I knocked one star off the review, however, because there are some rather obvious blunders in the book. To my knowledge, there are no errata posted for the book, so it may take you about one star's worth of head scratching to get around those blunders. Fortunately, this is the exception (no pun intended) and not the rule.

BrainSponge
This book is "very" helpful.I am preparing for my masters in IT and it has helped me to prepare for some of the more challenging Java programs. ... Read more

Product Description

Introduction to Java Programming, Comprehensive, 8e, features comprehensive coverage ideal for a one-, two-, or three-semester CS1 course sequence.

Customer Reviews (37)

A great learning tool
This book is a much better learning tool than "Java How To Program" by Deitel.As a new-comer to Java, I was struggling learning Java with Deitel, not knowing that this gem by Y. Daniel Liang existed.The Liang book explains the concepts in a natural-flowing way, with tons of code examples and clear explanations.All those new and complex programming concepts are demystified, and explained in a non-intimidating way.It is a joy to learn programming with this book.It covers lots of details, and gives clear examples of correct and incorrect ways of doing things.The instructor from the Java class I'm currently taking insisted on this book, and I'm so very glad he did.This book is making my progress so much easier. I'm a happy Java junior-programmer now.

Excellent and thorough
This is an excellent book, lots of examples showing you how to program.It is very accessable for anyone, and progresses naturally to the end increasing with more complex programming as you would expect.There is a companion website which contains more chapters, as well as videos detailing parts of the book.This was very well put together, if you want to learn Java this book will help accomplish this for you.

good beginner guide but some displaced topic
This book is very clear and comprehensible. However there are a few displaced sections which would belong in other chapters. For example the "Array list class" definitely does not belong into the "inheritance" chapter and the "Math class" should not be in the "methods" chapter. It would have been better to locate those topics in a special chapter about Java libraries.

One more lack of the book is it's too short description of OOP. As a C++ programmer I know the principles in detail, but if someone did not do any OOP before a more comprehensive discussion would be desirable

Very good java book
I am new to Java programming and took a java/programming course at a community college. This was the required text. Overall a fantastic book. Make sure you look the the erratas on the author's website and the programing exercise solutions too - great resource.

Very Serious Seller
Ordered at night, express shipped the next morning and arrived in two days. Great conditions as described. ... Read more

Product Description

The Best Fully Integrated Study System Available--Written by the Lead Developers of Exam 310-065

With hundreds of practice questions and hands-on exercises, SCJP Sun Certified Programmer for Java 6 Study Guide covers what you need to know--and shows you how to prepare--for this challenging exam.

• 100% complete coverage of all official objectives for exam 310-065
• Exam Objective Highlights in every chapter point out certification objectives to ensure you're focused on passing the exam
• Exam Watch sections in every chapter highlight key exam topics covered
• Simulated exam questions match the format, tone, topics, and difficulty of the real exam

Covers all SCJP exam topics, including:

Declarations and Access Control · Object Orientation · Assignments · Operators · Flow Control, Exceptions, and Assertions · Strings, I/O, Formatting, and Parsing · Generics and Collections · Inner Classes · Threads · Development

CD-ROM includes:

• Complete MasterExam practice testing engine, featuring: Two full practice exams; Detailed answers with explanations; Score Report performance assessment tool
• Electronic book for studying on the go
• Bonus coverage of the SCJD exam included!

Bonus downloadable MasterExam practice test with free online registration.

Customer Reviews (70)

Excellent Book
if you want to pass the certificationjava 6 exam, this is it the better way, just try it.

This is the One Stop Shop book..No Look further
Even though some of the the topics are tough and hard to understand, this is the best book in the market.

Helped me to prepare for SCJP
I got 90% on the test. I used this book and the K&R SCJP book as well. This book helps you to prepare for the test and only the test...nothing more and nothing less.

The CD is a joke!
The book is very good but get this--THE CD ONLY WORKS WITH WINDOWS!!!

Ummm Java is write once/run anywhere?!?!? And the CD only works with Windows?

Now if that isn't the ultimate irony I don't know what is...what, they couldn't write the CD content in, oh I don't know, JAVA?!?!?!

Fails Selt Test answers
Purchased this book in order to prepare for the SCJP exam. I found that the replies on the self test were not enough and found myself keep trying to workout the solution from the main material and some times could not.
Bit more description on the answers would have earned it a 5-start but without only a 3-start and unfortunately the need to purchase another book with better explanations on the self-test questions
... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (32)

Big but not bloated
I have the 2nd edition of Java in a Nutshell and it's less than half the size. Despite that, it there is no waste. The book sis jammed with all the basic information about the language, tools, and major packages of Java. A must have for Java programmers, professional and hobbyists alike. The only complaint I can think of is that some of the class descriptions are a bit light but really, it's just a reference and there's always Javadocs and Internet sources.

A great feature is the binding. I know, the binding? With a book this size, it's real easy to crack the spine and end up with loose pages falling out. This book overcomes that problem.You can even lie it flat most of the time so that it stays open.

Perfect for C++ programmers transitioning to Java
I needed to come up to speed with Java after a few years of C++, and this book was just the ticket!

Not only the author is very knowledgeable, but also his prose is clear, pedagogical and concise. None of the idiotic humour that sadly accompany many programming books, and yet it never reads dusty or boring.
Difficult to condense Java in a nutshell, but this is a superlative attempt.

The second half of the book is a Java library reference, but it does give you more than just the Javadocs. At any rate, the book is worth the money for the first half alone. Well done!

For other programmers transitioning from C++, as a second read I highly recommend Bloch's "Effective Java (second edition)", and if you have some time to spare and you do multithreading, you will also need Goetz's "Java Concurrency in Practice". Enjoy!

in a nutshell - meh
I am a programmer, and in a programming language book, I expect to find syntactical diagrams of the language.Anyone can read those, we should not have to glean the diagram from the wordy explanation.It's fine to have all the verbiage, but head each section with the syntax diagram.
Also, this book goes into lengthy explanations of what object oriented programming is NOT, as on page 104.This is a very bad practice in teaching.Only teach what is correct, not what some novice might ignorantly think.Ihave gotten better fundamentals in Java free on the w3c site.

this Nutshell has become a Bomb Shelter
I used to like this Nutshell book, but it seems to have grown a little too big for its bridges. Maybe it's not O'Reily's fault. Maybe it has more to do with Java growing so much. But earlier versions were quick and to the point. This is now overly verbose.

This is no longer a sleek Nutshell. Its a back-breaking bomb shelter with 10ft thick walls.

Excellent reference, but could lose the last 2/3 of the book
I very much like this as a reference, but at this point I feel like most of the back 2/3 of the book is unnecessary bulk. The front portion, however, is excellent. ... Read more

Product Description
Start building powerful programs with Java 6—fast!

Get an overview of Java 6 and begin building your own programs

Even if you're new to Java programming—or to programming in general—you can get up and running on this wildly popular language in a hurry. This book makes it easy! From how to install and run Java to understanding classes and objects and juggling values with arrays and collections, you will get up to speed on the new features of Java 6 in no time.

Discover how to

• Use object-oriented programming
• Work with the changes in Java 6 and JDK 6
• Save time by reusing code
• Mix Java and Javascript with the new scripting tools
• Troubleshoot code problems and fix bugs

All on the bonus CD-ROM

• Custom build of JCreator and all the code files used in the book
• Bonus chapters not included in the book
• Trial version of Jindent, WinOne, and NetCaptor freeware

System Requirements: For details and complete system requirements, see the CD-ROM appendix.

Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

so far so good
Havent finished the book because im reading it for a class i have in fall 2010 but as far as i've read, its great and i understand it. it starts at the basics so it should be no problem for peeps new to java.

Bought but unused
I bought this book hoping it would help my web development.Unfortunately I was replaced and did not have a chance to use the book.

A good desk reference
I have to agree with most of the reviews written here so far.This is a good desk reference for those using Java, but I am curious about the upcoming release for Java-All-in-one for Dummies that is to release April 2010.

If you've never programmed....
I needed to have some JAVA background quite unexpectedly for a class. After checking out a number of the intro JAVA books available and being able to "look inside" this one, I decided to go with this one. The author says from the outset that this is appropriate for someone with no prior programming experience and takes you step by step, and I would say, for the most part, he keeps that in mind.

Java forDummies 4 ed.
The book is very organized and easy to follow. The author Dr. Burd answers your email too. I get a damaged CD-Rom and ask for help; Dr Burd email me the codes and bonus chapters within one day. ... Read more

Product Description

“Thinking in Java should be read cover to cover by every Java programmer, then kept close at hand for frequent reference. The exercises are challenging, and the chapter on Collections is superb! Not only did this book help me to pass the Sun Certified Java Programmer exam; it’s also the first book I turn to whenever I have a Java question.”
—Jim Pleger, Loudoun County (Virginia) Government

“Much better than any other Java book I’ve seen. Make that ‘by an order of magnitude’.... Very complete, with excellent right-to-the-point examples and intelligent, not dumbed-down, explanations.... In contrast to many other Java books I found it to be unusually mature, consistent, intellectually honest, well-written, and precise. IMHO, an ideal book for studying Java.”
—Anatoly Vorobey, Technion University, Haifa, Israel

“Absolutely one of the best programming tutorials I’ve seen for any language.”
—Joakim Ziegler, FIX sysop

“Thank you again for your awesome book. I was really floundering (being a non-C programmer), but your book has brought me up to speed as fast as I could read it. It’s really cool to be able to understand the underlying principles and concepts from the start, rather than having to try to build that conceptual model through trial and error. Hopefully I will be able to attend your seminar in the not-too-distant future.”
—Randall R. Hawley, automation technician, Eli Lilly & Co.

“This is one of the best books I’ve read about a programming language.... The best book ever written on Java.”
—Ravindra Pai, Oracle Corporation, SUNOS product line

“Bruce, your book is wonderful! Your explanations are clear and direct. Through your fantastic book I have gained a tremendous amount of Java knowledge. The exercises are also fantastic and do an excellent job reinforcing the ideas explained throughout the chapters. I look forward to reading more books written by you. Thank you for the tremendous service that you are providing by writing such great books. My code will be much better after reading Thinking in Java. I thank you and I’m sure any programmers who will have to maintain my code are also grateful to you.”
—Yvonne Watkins, Java artisan, Discover Technologies, Inc.

“Other books cover the what of Java (describing the syntax and the libraries) or the how of Java (practical programming examples). Thinking in Java is the only book I know that explains the why of Java: Why it was designed the way it was, why it works the way it does, why it sometimes doesn’t work, why it’s better than C++, why it’s not. Although it also does a good job of teaching the what and how of the language, Thinking in Java is definitely the thinking person’s choice in a Java book.”
—Robert S. Stephenson

Topics covered:

Object-design basics Inheritance and polymorphism Object lifetimes Exception handling Multithreading and persistence Java on the Internet Analysis and design basics Java basics: keywords and flow control Initializing objects Garbage collection Java packages Designing for reuse: composition vs. inheritance The final keyword Interfaces and inner classes Arrays and container classes

Java I/O classes Run-time type identification UI design basics with Swing Deploying to JAR files Network programming with sockets JDBC database programming Introduction to servlets JavaServer Pages (JSPs) RMI CORBA Enterprise JavaBeans (EJBs) and Jini Cloning objects The Java Native Interface (JNI) Java programming guidelines

... Read more

Customer Reviews (306)

A hard look at the core for the hard-core
This book is the best way to learn the core language of Java and to learn about object-oriented programming and design.It is really meant for someone who has a some Java programming experiences; I do not recommend it for a novice.

You might ask: where should a novice start?Java is not a great language for n00bs; at the North Carolina School of Science and Math we begin with Python.The Python site has several good e-books and lots of tutorials. If you have never programmed before, begin here.Learn about forking, looping, functions, recursion and about working with objects such as lists,
tuples and dictionaries.

If you know how to write simple procedures and have some programming experience, the eccentric Head First Java published by O'Reilly is a fun and accessible place to begin with Java. I'd recommend if you are a beginner, you start with Dr Java ([...]).This runs on all platforms and has and "interactions pane" that allows you to inspect your classes live.

Once you make your way through this book, you can turn to Eckel's book; you will find it accessible and informative.It will build on your intuition you acquired reading Head First Java. Eckel's book does not address much in the way of GUIs.The O'Reilly book Learning Java can help you with that.Learning the material in these two books will give you a significant knowledge of Java.

In short, this book has an important place in the OO/Java cannon.It belongs in every serious programmer's library.

Confusing to say the least

A more appropriate title should be something like "Transitioning to Java from C++"!

I rarely ever do reviews, I know its a bad thing but I am trying to change. With that being said, let me jump into why I do NOT like this book. I have programmed before. In fact, I have taken a course in Java before but back then I hated programming and learned very little (now, I have seen the light :-). I am enrolled in a grad course that expects us to understand Java and so I bought this book. Before I even started reading the book, I had concerns. I "skimmed" through the book and noticed how conversational the book seemed. In my opinion a conversational tone does not teach you how to program. For example, if I have no clue about Object Oriented Programming, do I really want a five page lecture about what it is, and explaining all the parts. Explaining such terms makes little physical connection and you really never get it unless you code and see it working. The first code in the book refers to methods that were not explained and the continuous reference to C++ is extremely annoying and counter productive for those of use who don't know the language. In chapter one of a Java beginners book, there are comparisons to C++ with regards to memory leakage and garbage collections, terms that means very little to the beginner. What this approach will do, is to allow new terms to accumulate in your mind and it will start to frustrate you as the things mentioned has no meaning to you. The book assumes that you have some exposure to programming, it does not say what kind of programming language, so why does every page make a comparison to C++??

I am trying to return my book and I will be more cautious when buying my next book. I just kind of picked this book randomly.

Great book
This book is enormous and has a ton of information including object oriented design, which my professor really focuses on.For someone learning Java this book is very resourceful with code examples and explanations of different scenarios.I spent a good amount of time in the I/O sections and that specifically was littered with excellent examples.

Inclusive but not fun
Although the book includes the main Java features and libraries (which is positive), I found it a bit boring and way too long. I think that for that amount of pages the reader should get much more insight. I would recommend instead "Effective Java".

Boring is an understatement.
I took this book to learn about Annotations since there aren't many on this topic. THe explainations were just PAINFUL. I mean the author just throws in sentences with no reference whatsoever to what the words mean. It's like he expects me to read his mind. Its like watching a movie where you have to sit through about 3/4th of the movie to finally get what the plot is. Ok so if you watch the whole movie you might be able to tell what happened in the movie. But the first 3/4th of your time is just a torture if you are a person wth average patience. And here we are talking about 1100 pages for heaven's sake. I guess I have to start looking elsewhere. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (16)

Excellent book on Jax-ws.
I have worked on developing web services programs for many years and also attended Java one conference last year where participants learn more about Jax-ws package. If you really want to know how to develop Java web services using jax-ws technology, just read and try the examples from this book from the first chapter to the last and you will get everything you need to know, and more about Jax-ws technology. Remember that the author is a professor so he will place emphasis on important points and you can always pick up other details from other places like Metro Web Services Technologies web sites, etc. You may find some minor errors when you try the examples in this book but they will not stop you and you can reach the destination of becoming good in Web services using Jax-ws, if that is what you want.

I would highly recommend this book to software developers and analysts.

Good book, good examples but it all requires prior knowledge
This is a good book, although some examples don't work actually. The most appeal thing is this book is that examples include some codes from other Java APIs like XML for instance, and how to use them in WebServices development. About the main topic I would say this book was perfect for my needs. I'm new in Webservices and I could make a tour using SOAP and RESTful webservices, and it was very interesting for me.
I just want to warn some readers, specifically those who don't have prior knowledge in advanced concepts like dependency injection and servlets, that this book requires this knowledge.

If you want correct details, Don't Waste Your Money!
The reviewers of this book who rave about the details in this book certainly did not try to execute any of the example code. If they had, they would know that these are errors all the way through the book in the code examples.

The errors are not trival if you are trying to learn by focusing on what exactly the code is doing.In one example in the first chapter, there is a whole class left out of the source code, nor does the book mention it in the text.

Go to the errata section on the publishers website, the list of errors is long.The error I mention above is not in the errata either.

How does a book like this get out to the store shelves without proper editing?

If this is the best the author can do, please don't screw over the readers that are making their best efforts to get it right.If you would rather write a conceptual book, that's fine, just leave the details out.

Very good book
I did learn a lot which is all that you can ask for. The book is thin - less than 300 pages, and the author writes in a good conversational style. It is a good tutorial but it probably does not make a good reference as it does not go into too much detail in some places. For example it does not explain how to create a handler when it returns a false value (how is the response created?), and a little more detail on the client side BARE style. Also, the code examples do not use logging correctly. But these are very small annoyances compared to the overall learning.

A Java WS book written by a C/C++ veteran?
The author appears to be a C/C++ veteran instead of a Java guru. Method names such as read_teams_from_file and variable names such as team_map are everywhere.

The author also appears to ignore other common industry practice or industry norm. E.g. in the RestfulTeams service (page 137), information about the new team to create is contained in the HTTP header rather than in the body of the HTTP request to demonstrate "the flexibility of REST-style services".

While it is interesting to show it is possible to develop a Dispatch client against a SOAP based service with HTTP_BINDING (page 158), the author does not even mention the better, easier and more concise alternative, i.e., to use the default SOAP_BINDING for the Dispatch client.

Section 5.3.2 HTTP BASIC Authentication (page 212) is another example of abusing a well defined and well understood IT industry terminology, while the true HTTP BASIC Authentication (on Tomcat) is covered under another section (page 219, Container-Managed Authentication and Authorization) without explicitly lableing it as such.

Overall, the first 120 pages is a good introduction to JAX-WS 2.1. The rest of the book appears to be filler from various lecture notes. ... Read more

Product Description

The revised edition of the classic Core Java™, Volume II–Advanced Features, covers advanced user-interface programming and the enterprise features of the Java SE 6 platform. Like Volume I (which covers the core language and library features), this volume has been updated for Java SE 6 and new coverage is highlighted throughout. All sample programs have been carefully crafted to illustrate the latest programming techniques, displaying best-practices solutions to the types of real-world problems professional developers encounter.

Volume II includes new sections on the StAX API, JDBC 4, compiler API, scripting framework, splash screen and tray APIs, and many other Java SE 6 enhancements. In this book, the authors focus on the more advanced features of the Java language, including complete coverage of 

• Streams and Files
• Networking
• Database programming
• XML
• JNDI and LDAP
• Internationalization
• Advanced GUI components
• Java 2D and advanced AWT
• JavaBeans
• Security
• RMI and Web services
• Collections
• Annotations
• Native methods

For thorough coverage of Java fundamentals–including interfaces and inner classes, GUI programming with Swing, exception handling, generics, collections, and concurrency–look for the eighth edition of Core Java™, Volume I–Fundamentals (ISBN: 978-0-13-235476-9).

Customer Reviews (6)

Excellent handbook
This is an excellent handbook, guide you through concept with good examples. As a server-side developer, I am working on some Swing code, after searching lots of articles and books, I find this book gives me best guide.

At least, get this one
If you should have a reference book about Java among the many, get this one (It is part of a 2 volumes set).
It might not be complete on each concept, but it is a very good start for all of them. It gives serious comprehensive overviews and examples.

The drawback about the examples is that they are not sent on a CD or DVD along with the books. So you have to create an account and log on Safari online to get the book... page by page!!! It's a pity :-(

Kindle edition not a good buy
Like many reviewers I find the the Core Java series to be very valuable.However, be forewarned that the kindle edition is not a good representation of the book.The figures are completely useless either because they have not taken the time to convert them properly or because the kindle technology is simply incapable of displaying non-text content properly.I wish I had known this before I paid for the kindle edition of this book.

Best Java book out there
The Core Java (vol 1 and 2) are simply superb books.If you are a developer looking for thorough books on this subject, look no further.

Outstanding programming resource, and a massive one.
In my review of Professional Java JDK 6 Edition, I said I didn't think one book could cover such a wide variety of topics and expect to do a good job overall. This volume is, I think, an exception that proves the rule.

It is indeed a monster book, easily several months of steady work to get through, and an useful reference afterwards as well. It is well put together, clearly written, methodically presented. I wouldn't put it down if that were possible. The coverage is broad and the examples are interesting. The topics also feel complete, not because they are thorough, but because they leave off right where intermediate-level programmers could work out most details on their own.

I read the first and second editions years ago, and I must say this title has become a case study in steady, disciplined, tireless improvement and refinement of the original. It's 990 pages, but I haven't come across a useless sentence yet. The authors haven't just added on. They've refined their examples, improved and replaced others. Most importantly, they've realized a format that puts boilerplate and API tables to the side, allowing the reader to focus on the concept at hand. Complete code listings are in the text, presented in a way that makes it easy to gloss them in favor of the soft copy available by download.

If you need lots and lots of code work on different topics to burn Java into your fingertips -- and there really is no other way to do it -- this book is an excellent choice. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (24)

Not worth the price of purchase
This is a very basic introduction to the Java Collections Framework and simple use of generics.Emphasis on *simple*.If you're never used any sort of generics or templates before, this will get you started, but it's not the place to go to understand how to write generics use use type constraints and wildcards properly.Angelika Langer's Java Generics FAQs is much more useful in that regard.

Concise and useful.
This book is very useful.

It is in fact, ridiculously concise. It may seem like a flimsy little workbook, but somehow a ton of information is fit in it. Generally I can read about ~40 pages per hour, but on this I can barely get a third of that done, so don't be fooled by it's size.

It does start off assuming you have a general background knowledge, so don't attempt it until you do.

Some good information
While the author spends too much time on what he thinks Java should be and what Sun needs to do to fix it, there is a lot of good and useful data to be had from the text.

Complete and precise in contents, somewhat confusing in presentation
You will find everything you need to know in this thorough book. But be prepared the most advanced chapters are right at the beginning: A tough start easing off to light reading at the end.

Some concepts are explained in a counter intuitive way: A new concept is explained and within a few sentences the point of view is reversed.
This book helped me to reduce some of my @SuppressWarnings("unchecked") annotations.

The overview of the collection classes themselves is excellent and described very clearly.

Explains the inexplicable
There are some difficult issues with Java Generics. This book does an excellent job explaining them. It also provides a good guide when to use generics, its limitations, and the new limitations that it introduces for arrays. ... Read more

Product Description
This book teaches how to develop Java applications at the professional level. It starts by showing how to code, test, and debug everyday business applications that won t crash. It presents object-oriented features like classes, inheritance, interfaces, and polymorphism in a way that s both understandable and useful in the real world...perspective that s often missing in Java training. It presents essential Java skills such as working with data types, control statements, arrays, collections, generics, enumerations, exceptions, threads, Swing components, applets, and text and binary files. It covers new Java SE 6 features such as new JDBC features, the StAX XML API, and the built-in Derby database. And it s all done in the distinctive Murach style that has been training professional programmers for more than 30 years. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (27)

Good reference book.
I learned to program in Java elsewhere, and bought this book only after I had learned the basics. It is a great reference book for a person who already knows how to write java code. It deals with Java 6 which is the latest release, unlike other books which teach the older versions of the language. The chapters on XML and GUI programming are really great. For the price I paid (Euro 33), it is really a good buy. If you must own just one Java book, get this one. It is the best Java book I have seen out there.

Strong Book for someone new to Java - Might need more though
To give context, I am a C programmer by day, but wanted to learn Java to add to my skill set. I actually read Head First Java first, which turned out to be a good thing. Murach's Java book is a great book to show you the language and how it can be used in real life applications. In my first Java application, I referenced his code a lot. It was really a good help. I found it well written and almost error free.

However, what you won't get out of Murach's book is a deeper understanding of what all is really taking place. If you are a person who likes to know the "why's" of things, this book isn't going to be enough.

Pros:
Great Sample Code
Real Life Uses
Good coverage of the core topics
Good Layout/Format

Cons:
Depth of Understanding, especially for Object Oriented Thinking
Very little on some special topics that you need to know - the super() constructor for example

My recommendation is to read Head First Java first. This gives you a good understanding of the language itself and what is really going on. Then read this book to better that understanding and see it used in real life applications. They truly are a perfect combination together.

Get up to speed fast if you're new to Java...or coming back to it
I bought this book as a seasoned developer with 16 years of experience...and a love-hate relationship with Java, having tinkered with the language more than a few times. I've gotten native mobile apps development, specifically for the Android OS, so I needed a quick primer on some of the language enhancements and coding conventions for the "write once, run anywhere" platform. I'm glad I made my purchase.

I've had very positive experiences with Murach's titles, and this book didn't fail to live up to the company's history of writing effective titles.

First, this book isn't intended to be a reference for the Java documentation, nor does is claim to be a printed version of the APIs. Several properties, methods and events are listed for the obvious areas of greater importance, but the book wisely refers to the official docs for that. What you get is a fast overview of how to obtain, install, configure and write Java source code for your projects. I needed a refresher on some of the newer advancements of the languages, but I'm giving this book to computer science students, as it's applicable for them to, from the ground-up.

Now, the book, in my opinion, isn't without its shortcomings.Some things I thought need more attention are a discussion of anonymous methods (which these days are used all over the place...the book only has a page or so in later chapters), callbacks, and some of the more modern data types (i.e., Bundles).I also could have used a tad more about generic types.

The coding examples are practical, not trivial, and use a consistent convention that fosters good coding practices for the reader.

This book works well as a refresher for an old hat like myself, or an introductory work for the new coder.

Great book. Gets you up to speed quickly.
This is a great book.If you visit the publishing company website, you can download the full chapter 2 of the book.This will give you an idea of the style of the book. They also have a money back guarantee.

I am just over half way through the book and I already feel very confident with Java.The writing style of the book does not insult your intelligence as many other "beginning" books seem to.The authors set the book up to where the left and right pages are matched...the left page will introduce you to a topic and the right page will have examples and a summary of what you learned on the left page.It is the first time I have seen a book like this and I think it really helps.

I have been so impressed by this book that I also purchased the servlet and JSP book.

Not so fast here...
I've purchased several of Murach's books now.The learning style in his books works well for very simple topics.When things get more complicated, this learning presentation of explanatory text on left, and code example on the right, simply does not work. I think the Author knows this, and when he approached more complicated subject matter in his books, he simply chooses to ignore content so that it would fit his presentation style.Works great for him, for you as the reader who really needs to know this stuff, not so good...

Also, the Author claims that they differentiate themselves from the competition by not releasing a book before it's time.That they release a book not according to the publisher's print schedules, but after it has been thoroughly reviewed by other programmers.I just can't believe this is true.I have found tons of errors in his books, and figures where the content is completely obscured by an overlay.

Other problems include his overall style.The problem with it is he spends 700 pages on the How, and not on the Why.There is no discussion of why things are setup the way they are.So, what he is really selling is a reference manual.

Of the books that I've read of his that are worth it, and where his style worked was his Servlets and JSP's book.Everything else is a waste of time.I would look for another Author.

Sorry, the truth hurts.

... Read more

Product Description
"The [arrays] exercises are quite sophisticated and interesting. Provides the best combination of conceptual discussion and implementation examples of dynamic binding that I have encountered in a text. Excellent overview of basic networking via Java. Provides the perfect breadth and depth for generics in an entry-level Java class. Provides a goodsegue into a data structures course – the exercises are excellent." – Ric Heishman, George Mason University

"Beautiful collections of exercises–a nice illustration of how to use Java libraries to generate impressive and stimulating graphics with minimal code and effort. I found the “Making a Difference” exercises to be very nice and tactfully presented." – Amr Sabry, Indiana University

"A comprehensive introduction to programming in Java that covers all major areas of the platform. To me, the best way to understand programming is by example, and this book contains copious, well-described sample code." – Simon Ritter, Sun Microsystems

"Great example of polymorphism and interfaces. Great comparison of recursion and iteration. I found the [Searching and Sorting] chapter to be just right. A very understandable, simplified explanation of Big O–the best I have ever read! A great synthesis of details to help someone create generic data structures. I appreciate the addition of the GUI-based threading issues. Great approach to Java web technologies." – Sue McFarland Metzger, Villanova University

"I’m sure this [ATM] case study will be of immense value to practitioners and students of the object-oriented approach. Demystifies inheritance and polymorphism, and illustrates their use in getting elegant, simple and maintainable code." – Vinod Varma, Astra Infotech Private Limited ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

Very Clear and Thorough Book
I am a pretty experienced programmer, and I purchased this book for a continuing education course entitled Java for Beginners.The book is very thorough and very well laid out and organized.Every chapter tells you what you will learn, then teaches you, primarily via complete code examples, and then completely summarizes the chapter.Every section of the chapter is summarized thoroughly with bullet points.The Summaries are followed by a Terminology section which is a mini index (with page numbers).Next, they have Self-Review Exercises with answers, and finally, extensive Exercises.They are very consistent and precise with their use of terminology, coding style, and have many highlighted hints and tips along the way.The book is not cheap (about $100), but it is very good for learning Java and object oriented programming concepts.

If you're not familiar with object-oriented programming, start somewhere else
Seasoned object-oriented programmers looking for a comprehensive Java manual should be satisfied with this selection.

I was COMPLETELY NEW to object-oriented programming, however, and this book hindered my initial progress more than it helped. This book was required for an Intro to Object-Oriented Programming course. Unfortunately for the professor, the entire class was horribly confused by Chapter 3. The only students who had any clue were a few, experienced C++ programmers.

To borrow a well-coined phrase, this book "reads like stereo instructions."

Deitel & Deitel try to do too much with such a complex topic. They spend a couple of chapters laying a great introductory background by explaining the history of programming and the internet, but then proceed with cramped, dictionary-like pages filled with non-intuitive code examples. Definitions are delivered in a "drive-by" manner: bolded terms with only a few words or context as an explanation. EACH of the first several chapters has in excess of SEVENTY (70) highlighted definitions, so this quickly becomes VERY cumbersome. The chapter introducing objects and their components left me more confused than before I read the text. Finally, and my biggest beef: error-trapping techniques and debugger use is sequestered in the appendices and not taught as a routine part of programming.

If you are new to object-oriented programming, my recommendation to you is: "Objects First with Java: A Practical Introduction Using BlueJ" by Barnes and Kolling (Pearson: Prentice Hall), 3rd or 4th edition. Definitions are spare and well-highlighted, examples begin visually and simply, and exercises use code on the included CD Rom. You will be building simple programs immediately and debugging by Chapter 6. You should be able to pick it up used for a song, and BlueJ -- a simple, fairly typical code-editing application -- is free for download on-line.

Once you have a command of the basics, THEN go get the Deitel book. It's a great reference for users with background. Good luck.

Poor update over 7th edtion.Ripping off students.
I would say 5 starts for how well it is written but I am giving it 1 stars because it is an example of a junk publishers shove out claiming it is a new edition and costing students a lot of money.I own both the 7th and the 8th edition because I had 2 java classes that came in between 2 editions.The difference between the 2, next to nothing.They moved around where pages would fall a little and mess questions in the back of each chapter.
Oh and in the 8th editions they no longer include all their examples on the CD that came with the book.In the 7th edition ever single example in the book is on the CD so if you want to run the code from the examples or modify it a little to see how it works you have to type it all out your self.

If anything I think the 7th edition is a heck of a lot better and what you get with it is better. I know at the end of the semester I will be selling my 8th edition and keeping my 7th.My 8th edition sits at home and I only use it for HW question.My 7th edition is marked up and shows like it is well used but I am not going to destroy resale value on something that I think is a complete rip off.

So get the 7th edition.You will save your self up to $75 dollars

False Description
I read the description of my book as "new" before i bought the book. So after i bought the book and it came, the actual condition was used and had a page torn off and was stuck right back in. The torn page dangles off the side of the book and is crumpled.

Best Strategy to learn programming
I have bought several programming books over the past year, most of which gets returned to the store. Let me break down the reason for you. Think of a language you don't know. Then think about how it would be if someone tried to teach you the language, by giving you a lengthy description of a new word every day, without even showing you how to use it. By day ten you would have forgotten most of what you learned because descriptions are meaningless unless you use it. Well, the programming books I have returned were like that. Introductory chapters filled with descriptions and little practice. Java, how to program 8th edition starts basic, and provides the usual "Hello World" example. Then it adds another concept, then it adds more to the Hello World example. It never makes an example too long or filled with different concepts. The examples are fresh and attacks a new concept. Then, at the end there is a bigger exercise with combined concepts. This book teaches you just like every other book should teach. It starts with ABC and build little by little. If you are currently in a JAVA course and your current book sucks, don't hesitate, supplement it with this book. This book gets into advanced topics. The book has about 1500 pages, but the book is not unbearably heavy. If you are teaching JAVA on your own, buy this book. It is also not a bad idea to use the Amazon "Look Inside" feature to get an idea of how a book is structured. If I had done that, I would have saved myself some time getting the right book to begin with. A rarely write reviews, but considering the delight that I have been experiencing with this book, I felt the need. Most people only review when things are bad, but every now and again a good author deserves a pat on the back. Thank You Dietel, now I am back to reading, Java-How to program!

Note: Do not buy this book, if you would rather delay learning about Object oriented Program. There is another book by Dietel called, Java, How to program, Late Objects version, get that one instead. If you want to jump right into Objects then this is the book for you. ... Read more

Product Description

Essential Skills--Made Easy!

Let master programmer and bestselling author Herbert Schildt teach you the fundamentals of Java programming. Updated for the newest version of Java (Java SE 6), this step-by-step guide will have you programming in Java right from the start. Herb begins by explaining why Java is the preeminent programming language of the Internet, how it relates to object-oriented programming (OOP), and the general form of a Java program. Then it's on to data types, operators, control statements, classes, objects, and methods. Next, you'll learn about inheritance, exception handling, the I/O system, and multithreading. More advanced topics such as generics, interfaces, applets, and enumerations are also covered. The book ends with an introduction to Swing, Java's powerful GUI toolkit. Start programming in Java today with help from this fast-paced, hands-on tutorial. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Not the Greatest Kindle Implementation...
It has been years since I've done any programming and I have never worked with Java. Back early/mid August I found I may be doing some Java programming so I decided to pick up a book or 2 (or 3...).I downloaded this to my Kindle within minutes of the news and got down to work.I soon hit some limitations of the media....

Kindle implementation

I love my Kindle but have to admit that it isn't the greatest thing for reference books.It can, however, be very usable if the book is set up correctly.

Though not a reference book I really like the layout of the NY Times on the Kindle - you are always an easy click away from a sections list.Once in a section you can just push the 5-way forward to hit the next (or previous) story.Wouldn't it be great in this book if the module list was a short click away so you could quickly skip back to an earlier module?Or how about being able to push the 5-way control back and skip to the previous "Critical Skill"?How about a quick link on the bottom of the page (along with the modules link) to a hypertext index?

This book was pretty much a flat file.I bookmarked and highlighted important concepts but found it was the details I was always going back to look up.I can't flag every sentence!I had to click previous page over and over to find the reference I was looking for - not efficient at all.The table of contents does contain hyper-links to all of the main divisions, but it's not that easy (hit menu, then select "go to" and then table of contents and then go through dozens of pages...).

One plus - I had the book immediately and was reading/studying it right away.The paper books I ordered a few days later didn't arrive until I was almost finished with this.

And a warning - I use a kindle DX but have looked at this on a new kindle 3 - use a DX or the reader on a computer or i-Pad - you'll only be frustrated trying to copy code off of the small screen of a normal kindle.

Book

Many others have reviewed the book itself so I'll just give a few quick comments and impressions.

Overall it is a very good "traditional" programming book.It presents the ideas logically and goes into some depth.There is a lot of code, which all compiles and runs, to give examples of the concepts.The end of module questions include programs to write - I feel this is very important - you can't learn to program without writing some programs yourself.

I do have a few minor quibbles.As I write this I have almost completed another book.I've also read through a portion of the tutorial on the oracle web site and have gone over a few modules of the computer based training offered at work.There are a few "standards" all of these follow that this book doesn't.For example, which should you use: int x[] or int[] x?Both work.The discussion on OOP is pretty good but isn't always followed on chapters discussing other topics.On the one hand the author is making the programs as simple as possible to showcase the new ideas, but shouldn't the code always serve as an example of good programming practice?

Also be aware that this author has another Java book, "The Complete Reference", which seems to be a superset of this.Maybe not exactly, but close enough that I would recommend paying the extra (very little extra for the Kindle editions) for the more "advanced" version.

Overall, despite the quibbles, I enjoyed the book and got a lot out of it.As I suggest, though, you might want to at least look "The Complete Reference" by the same author and will definitely want to refer to other sources (always a good idea with programming books).

Generally a capable instruction book
I bought this book after buying and beginning to use the "Java for Dummies" book. Together, they've helped me get a good start learning Java programming. This book starts virtually from scratch, with definitions of variables and detailed instruction on how to use if-else, for-loops, while and do-while loops, etc., so it shouldn't leave a total beginner scratching her or his head. I've done hobby-level programming in a half-dozen other languages previously, so the use of these elements was familiar to me, but even so I learned some new things from this book's treatment of the subjects.

It doesn't do as good a job, to my way of learning, of explaining object-oriented programming as the "Dummies" book, although it does, of course, address the subject extensively. And neither book has made crystal-clear to me how to structure multiple-file projects, but that may be due more to my "skip-around and experiment" approach (in contrast to reading and applying the lessons in order).

On the whole, I probably use this book more than the other, as I scratch my way through the learning process. It would benefit enormously from a more thorough (and more carefully proofread) index.

good reference
My first Java book and now my goto reference. Few programming books have that much longevity on my bookshelf. Each topic is organized well, to the point and easy to understand.

excellent sequencing
excellent beginners guide to java and OO programming.
the author was very disciplined in maintaining a 1-thing-at-a-time style. his frequent instructions to "don't worry about ... for now...we'll cover that later" allows the reader to focus on the current topic.
well written, well paced, with great examples and exercises.

Fantastic Book!
Schildt is quite simply the best author to use to learn how to program in C, C++, Java, or C#.His books are very clear for a beginner, yet not too verbose like many of the other books out there.What really distinguishes this book from other similar ones is that the reader walks away from this book with a feeling of mastery of the topics covered and the confidence to be able to implement them appropriately.Many other introductory books breeze over important topics or explain them in a way that beginners find difficulty in understanding.This is far from the case with this book.Schildt has written an excellent series of books that I can easily say, taught me the foundations of programming in each respective language.Now if he only wrote guides for python and perl too... ... Read more

Product Description

The world's leading programming author offers comprehensive coverage of the new Java release

The definitive guide to Java has been fully expanded to cover every aspect of Java SE 6, the latest version of the worldAnd#39;s most popular Web programming language. This comprehensive resource contains everything you need to develop, compile, debug, and run Java applications and applets.

Customer Reviews (16)

ok
The book was in good condition... expected it to arrive a little bit earlier though

Good and will recommend
Though I ordered for used book, it looked like a new book.
Received the shippment with-in couple of days.

OK Reference Book
It is an OK reference book - however - it is a bit of stretch to call it a complete reference.

You are probably better of buying more specialized books if you are already well verced in Java. "Effective Java" by Joshua Block is highly recommendable.

Best book for learning Java
I learn't java using this book 8 years ago. With all the updates to Java 5, I wanted to know about generics and annotations etc. After failing to understand them using online materials, I turned to this book again. It does a wonderful job.
I recommend this book for beginners. Don't be turned off by the huge book. The first few chapters, will give you all that you need.

Decent Beginner Book, Hardly a Complete Reference
This was the text for a class I just finished.It's clearly written and does cover the new elements of the Java 6 platform.The author seems obsessed with AWT and applets in spite of neither having been used much this century. The book gives short shrift to swing. The book has nothing about java.sql and database connectivity.It touches briefly on servlets and ignores jsps.

If you're interested in an introduction to the nuts and bolts of the language the book is OK, if not inspired.Don't expect it to serve as a reference; it's short on detail.I would have liked to have seen a stronger emphasis on OO design.Most of the code examples are written in a procedural style that wouldn't have been out of place in 1985. A positive for the code examples is that every one I've tried compiles and seems to run properly.

... Read more

Product Description

Still, Learning Java, which uses Java 2 v1.3, does a competent job of introducing the language to beginners. As with most O'Reilly books, it's authoritative, lucid, and well edited. Though this book may fail to inspire in the reader the presumed enthusiasm for Java felt by the authors, you won't go wrong with this one, and its coverage of object-oriented programming issues is particularly good. --Steve Patient, Amazon.co.uk ... Read more

Customer Reviews (68)

Great Book - Not for Begginers
I really liked this book. It covers the Java language in detail, albeit very quickly. As others said it isn't for true beginners. It may be for Java newbies who have delved into other languages, but not true newbie programmer (for that I would recommend Head First Java). It seems like that it was almost intended for beginners because the first chapter starts with hello world, but it quickly picks up from there. I read other reviews so I knew what I was getting. I have been programming in java (not professionally) for about a year and have read some other books and dabbled in the language. I would say it is great for someone in-between beginner and intermediate as this is where I am and I feel like it is perfect for me. I just can't see a true beginner being able to follow some chapters, because it moves very quickly.

In short great book, but not for true begginers.

Review of "Learning Java" as a backup textbook
I purchased this book while taking the 2nd semester of a Intro to Object Oriented Programming Class at UNM.The main reason for the purchase is that the textbook for the class was inadequate to answer my questions as I studied for the course and I was looking for a good overall Java text to help cover the course material.I found an earlier version of this book in the library at UNM and liked what I saw so I purchased it from Amazon.Basically, this book does a great job covering just about all aspects of Java and is a great reference book for anyone learning about Java and Object Oriented Programming.It provides good examples as well, which a student really needs to help understand the concepts.My only criticism is that, because Java is such a rich language, a book this size (it's a large book!) cannot adequately cover the many different aspects with more than a few examples.Also, this is not meant to be a text book in the usual sense of the word in that there are no exercises and problems at the end of each chapter for the student to work through that would give added proficiency.Other than that I highly recommend this as a reference for anyone learning Java.Finally, I wish that people who write such books would put more comments ( ..//} in the example codes they use.Every text book I've looked at in Java seems to have this problem.I guess they do this because there is not a lot of room to add such comments but it sure would help.

THE book to buy!
If you are not an Idiot or a Dummy, and want to learn Java, save yourself some money in the future by purchasing this book. It may be the first, last and only book you need to buy. If I was teaching a class in Java, this is the book I would select.

Green programmer likes this book...
As someone who had absolutely no experience with any kind of programming (including C++), I think this book does a nice job of breaking down java projects into manageable segments.I appreciate that the book uses Eclipse programs, because it is not too hard to figure out.I would recommend this to someone who would like to learn Java using Eclipse.

Waaaaaaay too fast....
I've been learning Java for half a year now, and I found this book to be going way to fast. Chapters 1 - 3, covers somewhat complex concepts such as multi-threading, interfaces and policy files. But only in chapter 4 do they explain the primitive types.

This is not a tutorial for beginners. You have to know considerably amount of Java before you can fully understand all the concepts in this book. The good thing is that they jump into OOP immediately, and explaining it very thoroughly.

My last bad point about this book is that when they give you an example, usually about 2 pages long, and you have about 15% of an idea of what's going on. Fortunately, they do provide an explanation, however it's usually about 15 pages long. The examples are way too complicated for chapter 1 - 3.

The language is very technical, but it seems easy enough to understand when you think carefully about it. Not a horrible, but also not too good of a book.
... Read more